How to Prepare Your Business for Office Relocation

Relocating your office is a lot of work. From finding a new space to packing up everything in your office, it’s important to make sure that your business continues to run seamlessly throughout the entire moving process.

Create a Pre-Move Game Plan

Moving should never begin on “moving day”. Instead, you should treat moving as a multi-stage process that begins well before your move date. Read on for pre-move tips that will help your office relocation go smoothly.

Develop an Office Relocation Timeline

Schedule around important company dates. You don’t want to be moving your office on the same day as an important conference call or major meeting with international clients, right? Make sure that you pick a date that doesn’t disrupt the day-to-day functions of your company.

Consider your lease. To keep costs down and avoid overlapping rent payments, try to choose a date that gives you enough time to get everything moved and to get your former office space properly emptied and cleaned out.

Notify your landlord. All leases are different. Always check your current lease before selecting a move date to ensure you will have enough time to notify your landlord that you will not be renewing your current lease.

Notify employees and suppliers. Make sure that every employee and supplier your company deals with is aware of the move. Even before you select a date, it’s a good thing to start putting it out there that the company will be moving locations. It is possible that some employees will have to look for a new job if they feel they won’t or can’t commute to the new office location. To avoid any potential issues with employees, try to give them enough time to work out their personal details, if necessary.

Visit the New Office Space

Painting. If you want to paint your new space, hire professional painters. Although painting can sound like a good idea at the time, it often turns into a much larger undertaking than you originally anticipated.

Make a list of needed repairs. If your new space requires repairs, it’s important to make a list of broken or damaged areas to give to your new landlord before you move in. However, if you are making alterations to the space that require hiring contractors, start lining them up now. Office alterations can be loud and incredibly messy. The last thing you want is a bunch of incomplete projects in your new space on moving day.

Update Your Business Address

A company move is a lot like a personal move in that your address needs to be updated in about a million different places. Below are some of the most important sites and entities that you’ll need to update your business address with to avoid any problems.

Google My Business. Make sure customers can still find you! Before moving day, it’s important to update your address through Google My Business. If you don’t already have an account with Google My Business, we strongly recommend signing up for one. Google My Business is a great way to stay engaged with your customers, share company updates and blogs, photos and customer reviews.

United States Postal Service. Updating your address with the US Post Office will make sure that all your business mail is forwarded to the proper address. Forwarding will continue for one year, giving you enough time to manually update any senders who don’t automatically receive an address update from the post office. Click here to update your address with the USPS.

IRS Form 8822-B. Businesses must keep the IRS updated with correct address information. To do this, download and print IRS Form 8822-B, and follow the filling and submission instructions on the form. Certain business types require additional forms to update information, so be sure to contact the IRS if you’re unsure which forms to complete.

Client-Facing Communications. If your company uses an email server or content management system, make sure that you update your address on any and all active email campaigns. Some email providers require you update each individual campaign, so you should reach out to your email provider for the best way to update your address across all client-facing communications. While you’re updating the address in your email server, you should also update your email signature to include the new company address.

Create an Inventory List

Even when you hire professional movers, it’s still important to keep track of all the items in your office that you plan on moving to your new space. Create a digital list and keep a hard copy for your company’s records. In the rare case that something goes missing, you’ll be able to pinpoint any items that were misplaced in the move, and be able to hold the movers accountable for those missing items.

Prepare the New Space

Transfer Utilities. To ensure that your new office space is fully operational when your employees arrive, contact your utility providers and get all your utilities transferred before moving day. Depending on the complexity of your move, you may want to overlap your utilities for a few days to a week.

Secure Loading Zones. Confirm with the building manager and your moving crew that they will have access to the proper loading and unloading zones. Everyone involved in your office relocation will need access to the building. Reach out to your building manager to get the necessary parking decals and key cards.

Organize Items to be Moved

It’s a good idea to properly inventory, label and organize all the items that you will be moving. Label all boxes and items by department to ensure everything will make it to the right spot in your new office space. While you’re packing and labeling the items you want to move, you should also set aside the items that you don’t want to move.

Sort Junk Before Relocating Your Office

Before the actual moving begins, set aside time to go through your inventory and papers, and clearly mark what can be disposed of. You’ll want to set aside an area that is just for items that should be thrown out.

Once you have created your “trash pile”, take a few moments to inventory what is in the pile, which items are definitely trash, and which items could be sold or donated. Then divide your trash pile into three parts: definitely trash, donate, and sell. Finally, you’ll want to evaluate your definitely trash pile and see what trash you can easily remove on your own – and what needs to be removed by a professional junk removal company – before you move your office.

The last thing you want to do is mix up your definitely trash pile with any other items. A mix-up here could be costly and painful later. In fact, you should double and even triple check that the right items, and only the right items, are being thrown away! Don’t leave anything to chance.

Notify Your Customers/Clients

It should go without saying, but often times things get so hectic in a move, it’s easy to overlook the obvious. The best way to update your customers, partners and clients with your new address information is to create a “We’re Moving” email campaign. Not everyone opens all their emails, so it’s important to send more than just one notification.

The most effective way to update business contacts is to set up a three email drip campaign. The first email should announce that you will be moving. The second email should provide updated address information, complete with the move-in date. The third email should be a reminder that you have moved, and should once again include updated address information.

Pro Tips for a Seamless Moving Day

Now that you’ve gotten your entire office ready for your move, it’s time to set your plan into action. Moving day can be stressful, but we’re here to help.

Hire a Professional Office Mover

Since there is a lot of heavy lifting involved in an office move, and the timeframe to move offices isn’t always forgiving, it’s crucial to hire professional office movers to do the hard work. Professional office movers will take care of your office relocation in the most efficient, safest way possible. Due to liability and potential workers comp issues, hiring a professional is a much safer bet than tasking it to your employees.

When using a professional moving company, make sure to do your homework. Look at their reviews. Compare their prices. Make sure there isn’t anything in your office that the movers won’t be able to take before finding out during your actual move. A little research goes a long way, and could save you a major headache in the end.

Hire Security

It might sound silly, but hiring a security officer to oversee your move is actually a great idea. Since there will be a lot of people going in and out of the building, there is an increased potential for unauthorized guests and security breaches during office moves, especially for companies that deal with sensitive and personal information. Hiring security to ensure everyone’s safety could save your company from a potential security disaster.

Dealing With Leftover Office Junk After Your Move

Your office literally has a lot of “moving parts”, but it shouldn’t mean breaking the bank. You’ll want to factor in so many things that need to be accounted for.

This list includes moving supplies, hiring movers, the cost of office downtime, and the cost of your new space. Last, but definitely not least, don’t forget to hire a cleanup crew to clean your old location.

When you are relocating your office, you already have enough to think about. The last thing on your mind is what to do with all the junk you have left over once you are through relocating.

Let’s be real. You can’t leave all your junk behind. If your office relocation is like most, then you probably have a lot of bulky and awkward items to deal with, as well.

Let’s turn our attention to finding a budget-friendly way for you to deal with getting rid of all that office junk that has piled up over the years. With the right approach and tactics, you can get rid of all your unwanted items with minimal effort and out-of-pocket cost.

Office Relocation and Junk Removal

Quite often, people overlook the expense involved in the removal of trash, but getting rid of waste is important. The reason that removing your trash is so important is that no one wants to make a move more complicated by lugging unnecessary junk with them. Your movers will likely be willing to deal with your trash, but you’ll pay a premium for the service.

Anyone who has ever moved before understands what a daunting task it can be. Without the right help, what at first seems to be a “simple move” becomes a huge undertaking. A little preplanning, mixed with the right professional help, can go a long way.

Donate Items You Don’t Want to Move

Donating items can be tricky, as charities can be pretty picky, especially where larger office items are concerned. That stated, your company may have a variety of items, ones that are destined for the trash heap, that could be of use and value to a charity.

Along the same lines, consider giving away items instead of paying to have them hauled off. Placing ads on free sites such as Craigslist might help you save a considerable amount of money.

You may even have staff members that are happy to give some of your office supplies new homes, especially if those items are fairly lightweight. Things like binders, old paper, coffee and tea, and unneeded writing implements might just be a big hit with your team.

If you start this process a month or so before your move date, you will likely find that you can effectively get rid of many items, especially items like desks, chairs, and functioning office supplies such as printers and fax machines.

However, items like office cubicles can be a lot more difficult to move than they are to just get rid of. What might look like a small cubicle, when assembled, will break down into a huge pile of trash in the end. Since they are so bulky, office cubicles should be professionally removed and disposed of, not just thrown out in the trash.

Lower Your Office Relocation Costs by Selling Goods

Any step you can take to lower your office relocation costs is a good step! One way to lower your office relocation cost is to sell items that you no longer need instead of throwing them away or recycling them.

Office supplies, including items such as used desks and chairs, can often find new homes relatively easily. Before tossing anything, you should step back and assess whether or not the item can potentially be sold. Selling the office related items not only means that you can make some extra money to offset the costs of your move, but it also means that you can save on moving costs, too.

Talk Trash With Your Moving Company

Your moving company doesn’t specialize in the disposal of old office materials. As a result, most of the trash that you give them will likely end up in landfills. Office materials can be loaded with all kinds of chemicals and products that can harm the environment.

Responsible Disposal of Office Junk

Having your moving company handle the disposal of items is not cost effective for two key reasons: movers are expensive, and there may be an additional fee at the landfill.

Turning over old office materials to your moving company could lead to environmental damage. Landfills already have enough material as it is. Items like fax machines and copiers are considered e-waste, and have to be properly disposed of, by law. A professional junk removal company like LoadUp is specially trained to properly dispose of e-waste items in the most eco-friendly way possible.

You can be 100% certain that your movers will charge you a good deal for disposing of your waste because it means a separate trip to the landfill. Again, you will pay a sizable premium for this luxury. However, a professional junk removal company like LoadUp will dispose of your office junk responsibly, for a fraction of the cost.

Hire an Office Junk Removal Company

Don’t pay your movers to dispose of your trash because you will pay extra if you do. A junk removal company like LoadUp specializes in commercial and office trash removal and can handle large items as well. Opting to work with LoadUp means that everything gets recycled instead of ending up in a landfill.

It is key to note that a good percentage of your office relocation waste will likely not be recyclable or waste that your trash company will take. Don’t spend your valuable time researching what waste your trash company will take or what waste can be recycled. You can leave that to LoadUp. We happily take most forms of waste and work to keep as much as possible out of landfills.

Follow the tips outlined in this article, and you’ll keep your office relocation under control. Moving can be a headache, but with the right preparation and strategies you can make moving as painless as possible.

Once you’ve successfully moved your office, give us a call at 844-239-7711 to schedule a pickup for your leftover office junk. From filing cabinets and cubicles to eco-friendly disposal of your unwanted e-waste, LoadUp is the best choice for environmentally responsible junk removal with upfront, guaranteed pricing.